I transcribed a couple of Corbin's comments below. You can listen to the complete interview on VUcommodores.com.
Corbin on grinding out conference wins without power numbers:
"As good as our record is, we really haven't hit in the middle of the lineup. When they do (get rolling), I think we have a chance to have a very potent offense.
"The guy that's kind of held it together is Brian Harris. His on-base percentage is out of this world. He's been walked 25 times and hit 20 times and only struck out nine times. That's 45 times on base and we're not even talking about his average. You're talking about a lead-off hitter that's doing exactly what he needs to do. He's playing great at shortstop as well. I think he's been our most valuable guy to this point."
On Russell Brewer's success:
"He's been in that (closer) role for the better part of thee and a half years on our team and the Cape Cod League. I think he's completely immune to that position now. He knows that's his role and he goes in there and he's not spooked when runners are on base and in scoring position. He knows what he's doing and throws a high number of strikes.
"He's got one of those believability balls. If you're back there with a radar gun and you're look at his velo, you're thinking, 'What's special about that?' There are certain kids that when they throw their ball they just believe that it's not going to get hit and there's energy to the ball. He throws it in an area where the hitters can't catch up to it, and then he puts them away with a breaking ball. So far so good him, he's a good kid."
On Sonny Gray's development:
"Being such a powerful kid with his fastball, we want him to go to the other extreme and have the other guy put it in play. In order for him to get to the seventh inning, he needs to have an 80-90 pitch count in the middle part of the game. He has to be the guy that gets as far as he can in the game.
"I think he's been able to do that. He's been able to sink his fastball and make hitters put the ball on the ground. If he does that, which he has done, he goes longer into the game. He gets better and better and better as he goes. He's not a finished product by any stretch, but he's a special kid … and he's learning how to pitch every day."
On Jason Esposito's improvement:
"Josh Holliday, our hitting coach, has helped him a tremendous amount. Espo really loves the game. If we have a 6 o'clock game, he will be down here at 11:30 after he finishes school. He'll hit for two hours even before we get into batting practice. He just has an unbelievable routine. He practices hitting not because he wants to see an immediate outcome, but because he has a great desire to be a good, good hitter.
"He's a kid that keeps developing … He couldn't hit a breaking ball last year and now he hits them. He really couldn't hit the good fastball on the outer half of the plate and now he's hitting it to right-centerfield and getting doubles.
"He has tremendous passion for the game."
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